Improved defensive armor for marine and other batteries



. sel and the lives of -those on board.

UNITED STATES PATENT' @Triciav 'JAMES B. nADs, or sir. LOUIS, MissonnrfIMPROVEDDEFENSIVE ARMOR FOR MARINE AND OTHER BATTERIES.

v-Speeication forming part of 'Letters Patent No. 39,218, dated July 14,1863.

To all whom, itvnay concern:

Be it known that 1JAMYES B. Enns, of the city and county of St. Louis,and State of Mis- Sourifhaveinvented certain. new and usefulImprovements in Armorvfor War.- Vessels; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a t'ull and clear description thereof, reference beinghad to the accompanyingvdrawings,.and to the letters of reference markedthereon,-and made to form a. part ot' this specification.

It is well knownthat serious diiiicully has been experienced in thepractical employment ot' ironclad war-vessels, frointhe fact that the'transverse bolts used to secure the armornlates have been liable tobreakage and `other damage by the labor and strain ot' the vessels atsea, and also by the action of projectiles used against said vessels bythe enemy, thereby creating leakage and endangering the vesl To avoidthose and other difiicultics,and to secure many important advantages,among which may be .mentioned givingto the vessel additional strength,(which is due to the mass of metal forming the armor,) cheapncss ofconstruction, and practica-l efiiciency are the objects of thisinvention, the nat-1re ot' which relates to the employment of T orangle-iron bars, in combination with metallic dowel pins', for securingthe armor-plates, and making a system of breakingjoints by anarrangement otthe said angle-iron bars and armor-plates, as hereinafter'specified and represented.

In reference to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevationrepresenting a portion of an iron-clad vessel constructed in accordancewith my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal longitudinal sectional plantaken through the real line A B. Fig. 3 is a vertical section showingthe peculiar inode of securing the armor-plates; and Fig. 4 is avertical section showing, specially, the arrangement. of theangle-irons, the armor-plates being removed.

C represents the metallic sheathing, which l will be arranged, rivetedor bolted, and secured to the ribs d of the vessel, in accordance withthe usual method of constructing iron vessels.

E represents the armor plates, which will be formed of iron of suitableshape and thickness for the vessel to be constructed, reference beinghad to the purpose for which the vessel is intended, andv of a length asgreat as possible, in order to avoid frequentjoints and to securecontinuity of metal to the greatest possible extent. The saidarmor-plates E may be graduated in thickness, so as to aiford the properresistance above and below the Waterlinc, and suitable sockets willbeformedin them for the reception of the metallic dowelpinsf. (Shownclearly in Fig. 3, and by dotted lines in Fig. 1.)

g represents the angle-iron bars, which will be formed of suitablestrength and thickness and tirmly bolted tothe sheathing Cla-nd to theribs d. Their lateral or horizontal projection will be equal to thethickness of thearmorplates employed, so that aVv smooth and evensurface may be produced. In the said lateral projections ot' theangle-irons will be formed peri'orations to correspond with the socketsin the armor-plates for the reception ofthe dowelpinsf, so that, as thesaid armor plates E are placed upon the vessel, they .will bepermanentlyand rigidly secured in such marinera-s to become a part ofthe vessel by means'of the said angle-irons g and dowel pins f, as fullyshown in Fig. 3. Bowel-pins Will also be inserted in the armor-plates'Eat the joints formed a-t their ends, as fully shown by dotted lines inFig..l,.by means ot' which the said joints will be peifectly secured. Inthe construction of the said angle irons g andarm orplates E, and intheir arrangement upon the vessel, care will be taken that the jointsformed by the butting or meeting ot' their ends may alternate, therebycreating a system of breakingjoints, which is very important andessential to the strength and ecacy ofthe vessel. This arrangement ofparts and system of breaking joints will be clearly understood byreference to Fig. l ofthe drawings.

The operation of laying on and securing the said armor-plates may bedescribed as follows: At the proper point upon the hull of the vessel'or the base of the tirst or lowest armorplate will be secured, asbefore described,the lowest an gle-iron, g'. (It will be seen that thevertical portion of this angleiron g extends downward.) The firstarmor-plate will then be placed in its proper position upon the vessi l,rt sin g upon the said angle-iron g. Dowe'i pins (which in this instancemay, if found necessary, be formed with a screw-thread) will then bedriven up through the angle-iron g into the lower edge of the saidarmor-plate in such manner as to hold it rigidly in its place. Thesecond angle-iron will then be'litted and bolted to its place. Asecondary iron plate of a thickness equal to that of the verticalportion of the said angleiron, and of a width adapted to the differencebetween the height of thesaid vertical portion of the angle-iron g andthe width of the armor-plate, may then be fitted to its proper place andfirmly bolted or riveted to the sheathing C and ribs d. The principalobject of this secondary plate is to atiorda smooth, even, and solidsurface against which the next armor-plate may be fitted;

The second angle-iron, g, being new secured in its proper place,dowel-pinsj'willbe driven down through its perforations into the socketsin the upper edge of the armor-plate already fitted to its place. Theupper ends of the said dowel-pins will extend above the angleiron insuch manner as to be adapted to lit into the sockets in the lower edgeof the next armor-plate, which may then be fitted to its place.-

The above description will answer for each succeeding angle-iron andarmor-plate until the armor ofthe vessel is completed. The upper edgesof the last or upper armor-plates will be secured by means of pinscorresponding with the dowel-pinsf, which will be driven down throughthe deck 4of the vessel into sockets, before described. It will thus beseen that the armor of the vessel is rigidly and permanently secured inthe inost thorough and efficientmanner, so as to form a vital part ofthe si ren'gth of the vessel without the employment ot' a single throughbolt or rivet, and that the withindescribed system of. breaking jointsis such as to secure the continuous strength of the metal employed inthe highest possible deprojectiles; also, safety from leakage caused bythe breaking of through-bolts either by the said action of projectilesor the labor of the vessel at sea; vast economy in labor and expense inthe construction of vessels and keeping the saine in repair, andconverting the strength of the armor into part and parcel of thestrength of the vessel instead of carrying an immense dead-weight ofmetal as armor which a'ords no material strength to the vessel, which isthe case with iron and ironclad war-vessels now in common use.

I do not confine myself to any particular thickness for the ironarinor-plates E, as it is obvious the same may be varied to meet therequirements of the service for which the vessel may be intended.

I do not wish to be understood as claiming that there is anything new inalternate joints for ordinary purposes, for I am aware that similardevices are common for various purposes; but I believe thewithin-described arrangement of the angle-iron bars g and armorplates Eand dowel-pinsj, creating a system of breaking joints for the purpose ofgiving additional strength to the armor of war-ves- JAS. B. EADS. [L.s.] Witnesses:

H. E. CLIFTON, E. A. SKEELE.

